Legends Report - Inspirational News

The Rock Considers Presidential Bid Based On Inclusion And Cooperation

The actor Dwayne Johnson, known as 'The Rock' from his wrestling days, has spoken about the possibility of a future presidential bid in a recent interview. While not criticizing the current president, Donald Trump, he did say he did not agree with President Trump's attempt to ban entry to the US from several Muslim-majority countries. He also spoke about how he would run his campaign based on bringing people together and including them regardless of their views:

“I completely disagree with it [the travel ban] ... I believe in our national security to the core, but I don’t believe in a ‘ban’ that bans immigrants. I believe in inclusion. Our country was built on that, and it continues to be made strong by that."

"[If I didn’t agree with someone] on something, I wouldn’t shut them out. I would actually include them... The first thing we’d do is we’d come and sit down and we’d talk about it. I [would] take responsibility for everyone. Especially when you disagree with me. If there’s a large number of people disagreeing, there might be something I’m not seeing, so let me see it. Let me understand it.”

Mr Johnson makes a powerful point here and highlights the principle of valuing the difference between people, so that a better, all-encompassing solution can be found to problems. He also shows a high degree of humility by being open to not knowing everything, or always being 'right'. This can sometimes be the case with people in power who are not helped to see reality by those close to them.

We can bring this point into our own lives too. Are there situations with people where you disagree with them, but have not been open to looking at their viewpoint? Has this made the problem worse? Only when we sit down and talk about our challenges with those involved can we create lasting solutions. Click here to read more on this story...

Sheryl Sandberg On The Best Way To Support Our Loved Ones

Sheryl Sandberg, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Facebook, unexpectedly and suddenly lost her husband, Dave Goldberg, in May 2015. It was the most painful and difficult event of her life, but one she has used her position to speak openly about to help others learn from her experiences. She spoke recently about her second book 'Option B' to Business Insider US editor-in-chief Alyson Shontell. In this interview she explained how close family and friends struggle to communicate and deal with tragic situations those so close to them might be going through. Ms Sandberg said:

"I used to think that if someone was going through something hard, if I brought it up I was reminding them. You can't 'remind me' I lost Dave. You can't remind someone that their child is sick. You can't remind someone their dad went to jail or their mom is in trouble or they just lost their job. It's not possible to remind anyone of that."

"I just felt like there was this huge elephant following me everywhere. It's not just death — again, it's all of those examples I just shared. I think one of the lessons for me is that acknowledging pain is so powerful."

Asked what the best way to acknowledge it would be, she went on to say:

"Not sugar-coating it, not 'I know you're going to get through this' — because sometimes you're not — but 'I know you're scared and I know this is hard, and we're going to get through it together... The power of acknowledgement and the power of we. Not 'You're going to get through this.' 'We're going get through this.'"

Being there to support someone we love and cherish through a tragedy or very challenging emotional experience is no doubt very difficult for anyone, especially if it's something we have not experienced ourselves. The incredibly valuable thing Ms Sandberg is helping us all with through her story is learning the difference between empathy and sympathy. Knowing this difference can help us to offer valuable support to those we care about when they're suffering emotionally.

Unlike empathy, sympathy disconnects us from another person's experience, it is about 'feeling for' someone and what they're going through. However, to truly empathise means to 'feel WITH' someone - to be there with them and to let them know that we're there to understand, to be someone they can lean on and speak frankly to about the reality of the situation. We might not know exactly how it feels to them, but we will no doubt have been through challenges of our own and what that is like. As researcher and author Brené Brown has said:

"The two most powerful words we can hear when we're in struggle: me too."

Children’s Care Services In UK Near Breaking Point

With an estimated shortfall of £2billion pounds by the end of this decade due to budget cuts, social care services for vulnerable children in the UK are approaching breaking point, according to a report featured in The Guardian.

An assessment carried out by the Local Government Association (LGA) has seen an increasing need in funding to support children who are at risk of harm and are being taken into care services, however councils are spending 9% less when compared to 2010.

According to Alison Michalska, president of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services, the number of problems arising from the budget cuts are likely to increase. Although there is more spending on emergency situations - we must change our attention to early prevention rather than purely on cure. She said:

“We cannot go on as we are. Local authorities know that a strong local early-intervention offer can reduce the need for more intrusive and costly interventions in the lives of children and families, once problems have worsened and reached crisis point, yet councils have been left with no choice but to reduce these services in order to cope with rising demand. Local authorities have worked hard to make savings, but we are running out of options.”

The wider lesson here and for us all is... where we place our attention. Do we pay attention to prevention or trying to find a cure for the problems we face in our lives? This can be the case for our health, families, work and many areas that influence our success. In the words of Benjamin Franklin: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” To read more about this article click here...

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Having been quite a shy kid growing up, there's nothing more moving to me now than seeing someone start to realise their real potential and believe in themselves a bit more... It's one of the best feelings ever! For me, Legends help us all to see more of what's possible and start to aim that little bit higher in life. It's so important to have fun and enjoy ourselves along the way too... Have fun, never stop learning and share as much as you can with others